Senseless

I wrote this on February 4th but am now posting it. Unfortunately the sorrow and brutalities continue....

Today I read an article about an Egyptian woman who was brutally killed as she went to mourn the dead at Tahrir Square. All she wanted to do was to show her respect and mourn the dead. Words cannot describe what my heart feels. A travesty? A tragedy? Horror? I don’t know what words can be adequate for the pain in my heart. I do not know who she is personally but at the same time I feel like she is my sister. She is a human being, and that is enough for me to mourn her senseless death. That is enough for my heart to break at the thoughtless extinguishing of her life. That is enough for tears to be shed for one lovely life that is no longer in this world. That is enough.

And the greater tragedy is that she was not the only one to be senselessly killed since the beginning of 2015. Recently we have seen the end of life for the Jordanian pilot and the Japanese reporter, among numerous others. There are also those who remain unnamed in Nigeria, massacred at the hands of Boko Haram. If the year is to begin with the cruel bloodshed of my fellow human beings - my brothers and my sisters for all intents and purposes - what do we look forward to? What do we say to our children who see such images of hate? What do we have to say for us as human beings living in the 21^st century as we brutally end other peoples’ lives?

For the children of Syria

My post on this subject is long overdue as is any post for that matter, but my heart has been heavy for the Syrian children since the conflict started several years ago. I have protested the US's bombing of Syria when that proposal was brought up and I have looked into what is being done for the Syrian children who find themselves refugees in neighboring countries. There are thousands of children who have fled from their homes, with or without their parents, and who have been adjusting to life as a refugee. A lot of them are not in school due to the turmoil and the stretch of resources available to them as refugees; and as for those who are still in Syria, who knows what their situation truly is. As much as I believe children are resilient, I also believe that children are the most fragile and vulnerable. We as adults really need to go to great lengths to protect children - any children - so that they can improve the society we live in. It is what we put them through today that will determine what kind of people they will be tomorrow. But it seems that the US news channels have now forgotten about these events and have moved on to others. Of course there are plenty of other current events that are captivating our attention, but I cannot shake the burden I have for these children and all those other children in that area that are suffering due to the actions of the adults. Children should not have to suffer because adults cannot find peaceful solutions to their conflicts.

More recent news articles and reports on Syria can be found here:

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/2014/08/syria-no-strings-2014817105747216504.html
https://news.vice.com/article/airstrikes-pound-islamic-state-forces-in-syria-as-rebels-gain-an-unlikely-ally
UNICEF calls Syria one of the most dangerous places for a child.

And of course this also reminds me of the children in Gaza, who are suffering the same things as the Syrian children having already been through several conflicts depending upon their age. The only difference is that the children of Gaza have nowhere to go, no neighboring countries to flee to. It is a truly tragic situation - again, children suffering because adults cannot find peaceful solutions. Here's an article about the children of Gaza:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28803447

Human trafficking

Today my husband and I, along with some friends, attended an event called "Let My People Go: Equipping NYC Pastors to Fight Modern-Day Slavery". It was an event to equip Christian church pastors and church leaders to involve their congregations in the fight against human trafficking, organized by The Price of Life Campaign. Human trafficking as discussed today encompassed not just sex trafficking but also labor trafficking. In essence, human trafficking was defined as force, fraud, and coercion of the vulnerable; basically, it is an exploitation of vulnerability. The UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) has a diagram that describes more in detail what human trafficking is; to take a look, click here. Whether it's children, adolescents, homeless, or marginalized groups, human trafficking exploits human beings and considers them objects rather than beings with dignity and value. And Christian or not, this should be an issue that concerns all of us.

As those who live in the United States, we ought to know that the U.S. is the number two destination for trafficked persons next to Germany. And in the U.S., Flushing, New York is the epicenter of trafficking for the East Coast. Personally, living on the East Coast (close enough to Flushing) of the U.S., these are terrible facts to know. It is horrific to think that consumerism has extended to the exploitation of vulnerable people for profit. And it is imperative to spread awareness and action in whatever small or large way possible so that this form of slavery will come to an end.

But I'm sure there are people who might ask why we should care as long as we don't participate in it (particularly when it comes to exploitation of persons for sexual purposes, such as girls and women who are being prostituted). Well, it's never that simple because we are talking about forced labor as well as sexual exploitation. And we all contribute in some way to forced labor if we are not aware of what we shop for and where we shop. The clothes we buy, the accessories we wear, the food and drinks we consume (like coffee and chocolate) all have the potential of contributing to forced labor, child labor, and exploitation. So, being informed and aware of all the issues related to human trafficking is certainly an important step in the movement to abolish modern-day slavery. I've blogged about certain things before like chocolate, child soldiers, child miners, and the like. And there will be more related blogs to come in the future I'm sure, so be on the lookout for those.

Some websites for resources aside from what I've mentioned above include:

• The Polaris Project 
• Restore NYC 
• New York City Urban Project 
• List of Organizations that Oppose Human Trafficking  (not a comprehensive list but you can cross-reference with another that I post)
• List of Organizations in the U.S. Working to Combat Human Trafficking

Women around the World

I am back to blogging after a hiatus due to personal circumstances. But human rights and social justice issues were never far from my mind. I have several posts in draft form waiting to be published so I will do that over the next few days.

Recently we celebrated International Women's Day, and though this day has come and gone, celebrating the accomplishments of women around the world as well as acknowledging their hardships should not be a one day thing. As I joined in on the celebrations with my mother-in-law at a local community center and then later that weekend listened to some conversations of women from Latin America who spoke of their stories, I was suddenly struck with the thought -- though not new nor profound -- that women are always so much more affected by violence, poverty, and politics than any other people. Here I was listening to my mother-in-law and her friends, thinking of my own mother's hardships, and thinking of those women still struggling today, when it hit me that it seemed that no matter what continent or what country these women were from their stories resonated in unison of the vulnerability of women everywhere. But their stories did not only speak of vulnerability; they spoke of strength--incredible strength--to overcome the obstacles in order to live a better life, save their children, and be teachers to us all.

Women still face obstacles and challenges everywhere; and crimes are still committed against them simply based on their gender. Think of the young woman who was gang-raped in India towards the end of last year. Think of women who are victims of domestic violence, right here in the United States to prompt the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act. Think of young girls forced to marry because of poverty and hunger in South Sudan. These are just a few examples of what happens around the world today, in the 21st century. I hope that in the coming years, we do not need to take a special day to recognize the plight of women around the world but learn to work together with everyone to build a better, more respectful and peaceful world for the next generation regardless of gender.

And I hope that we can remember that it is up to us to teach the next generation how women should be treated. I will always remember what I heard this past International Women's Day: "If a man treats a woman like a princess it is because he was taught by a queen." It is the attitudes and ideas that we hand down to our children that generally form the basis of ill-treatment of others. Let us be a generation that is aware of the injustices and resolve them for the next generation.

Human Rights Awareness Through Movies

Every day there are human rights violations occurring around the world; someone is suffering at the hands of someone or some institution. The biggest in the news recently has been the turmoil in Syria. It is certainly a shame that so many innocent lives have to be claimed due to a struggle for political power. People have a right to voice their opinion without getting killed, and they have a right to life, life that someone else has no right to take away. And let's not forget the women in Pakistan who were allegedly killed for "singing" at a wedding because they were not "behaving" according to the conservative traditions of the tribe. Tragic.

But sometimes the news does't impact us as much as the movies we see. Movies make us laugh, move us to tears, touch our hearts, and provoke us to think more than we ever realize. Movies convey values and ideologies in a context where we we can relate; or they enable us to project ourselves into those contexts so that we empathize with what's going on as well as with the characters. I think documentaries and films are an integral part of creating human rights and social justice awareness among people.

So here are some upcoming films in the Long Island area that are related to social justice issues and human rights:


Gasland: this Saturday (6/9)  from 7-9:15, in Babylon, free admission. The movie looks at the controversial issue of fracking.

The Harvest: next Wednesday 6/13 at 7:30 pm, in Huntington, $15 including a reception. This movie looks at the plight of migrant child farmworkers in the US. This film is actually from the same director as The Dark Side of Chocolate, and he will be there in person.

Human Rights Watch Film Festival - New York: June 14 - 28 at the Lincoln Center in New York City, sponsored by Human Rights Watch. Films feature a variety of human rights issues; go to the page for more information on the movies.